Soaring number of priests in Africa, Southeast Asia amid declines in Europe, North America
July 09, 2026
» Continue to this story on L'Osservatore Romano (Italian)
CWN Editor's Note: In a detailed analysis of priesthood statistics between 2013 and 2024, the Vatican newspaper found that the total number of priests worldwide decreased 1.9% over the 11-year period to 407,421. The number of diocesan priests fell by 0.5%; the number of religious priests fell by 4.9%.
In Africa, however, the number of priests soared by 35.8% between 2013 and 2024, and in Southeast Asia, the number of priests increased by 23.2%. In contrast, the number of priests in Europe declined by 17.2%, and the number of priests in North America (classified as the United States and Canada) declined by 14.2%.
In 2024, Europe had 20.2% of the world’s Catholic population, 37.5% of the world’s priests, and only 11.7% of the world’s major seminarians. Africa, with 20.3% of the world’s Catholics, had 13.9% of the world’s priests, but 34.5% of the world’s major seminarians.
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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